Members of the 4th Chamber of Parliament will be sworn into office tomorrow. The development was confirmed by Judith Uwizeye, the Minister in the President’s Office yesterday. She said that the MPs will also elect Lower House leaders, including the Speaker, and two Deputy Speakers. The chamber will start their five-year term on October 5. One of the deputy speakers is in charge of legislation affairs and the oversight of government, while the other is in charge of finance and administration. The Speaker is not supposed to come from the ruling party, according to the constitution. Donatille Mukabalisa is the immediate former Speaker and returns to parliament following her re-election earlier this month. The next deputy speakers will replace Abbas Mukama and Jeanne d’Arc Uwimana Umpaye who were in charge of legislation affairs and the oversight of the government action, and finance and administration, respectively. The lower chamber of parliament constitutes eighty members. They include 53 fronted by political parties (who were elected through universal suffrage), 24 women representatives, two representatives of the youth, and one MP who will represent the interests of the people living with disabilities. RPF-Inkotanyi, with its allied political parties, won 40 seats after garnering 74 per cent of the votes from 6.6 million Rwandans who took part in the direct vote, according to electoral commission. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Liberal Party (PL) obtained five seats and four seats, respectively. Newcomers Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and PS-Imberakuri secured two seats each after they each secured the minimum threshold of 5 per cent of the votes. Representatives of women, youth and people living with disabilities were picked through electoral colleges of the respective special interest groups. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
